Saturday, November 04, 2006

Pg. 69: "Cracking Up"

I asked him to apply the "page 69 test" to his book. Here is his reply:

Cracking Up focuses on provocative American humor since 1980: jokes, satires and parodies intended to do more than amuse. Coming early in a chapter on the positive humor movement, page 69 introduces readers to a merry band of consultants and public speakers determined to bring mirth into our classrooms, offices, hospitals and homes. Inspired by Norman Cousins, the editor and writer who in 1977 claimed to have cured himself of collagen disease with large doses of vitamin C and laughter, these advocates come prepared with red clown noses and an inclination to pun. Specifically, the page mentions Ron Culberson, “Director of Everything! At FUNsulting,” Larry Wilde, “America’s Good Humor Man,” and the “caring clowns based at Rex Hospital in Raleigh, North Carolina: ‘She’s Nola Nurse, RN! In case you don’t know what RN stands for, in her case it means really nutty.’” Written from a skeptical position from which it asks whether these practitioners promise too much and try too hard, the chapter moves onto discussions with movement figures, an account of a Laughing Club workout, the story of my participation in conferences sponsored by pro-humor organizations, and descriptions of humor-stimulating products (such as fake dog poop, yellow smiley face plastic shapes, and fart-sound-producing machines). Jolly, jolly, ho-ho-ho!

Elsewhere the book explores strains of intentional humor designed to terrify or persuade. Just as Norman Cousins inspired a generation of humor boosters, so Freddy Krueger, the killing joker of Nightmare on Elm Street fame, provided a much-imitated model for such villains as The Joker, Hannibal Lecter and the Vampire Lestat. With these extremes—Freddy vs. Norman—established and with questions asked about whether they represent contrasting responses to a set of widely shared anxieties—Cracking Up moves out across landscapes of recent political and social argument. Chapters called “Shut Up! No, You Shut Up! Fighting With and About Humor” and “Ridicule to Rule: The Strange Case of G. W. Bush” consider how the Freddy and Norman impulses (that is, the use of humor to terrify or soothe) figure in our angry politics. Topics discussed include jokes used to sell alcohol and tobacco to kids; the battle between the forces of political correctness and anti-political correctness; and the hotly debated question of whether Jesus ever laughed. Intentional humorists contrasted include Rush Limbaugh and Garry Trudeau, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, Jay Leno and Jon Stewart. By exploring realms of controversial, manipulative and disturbing laughter, Cracking Up challenges common sense notions about how American humor has been operating in recent years.